Photo albums posted by The-Dutchman

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St. Petersburg, Russia This album contains 56 pictures In Russian literature and informal documents the "Saint" is usually omitted, leaving Petersburg. In common parlance Russians may delete as well, leaving only Peter.
Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia on 27 May 1703. From 1713 through 1728 and from 1732 it was the capital of the country until 1918 when the central government bodies finally moved from Petrograd to Moscow. It is Russia's second largest city after Moscow with 4.6 million inhabitants. Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural centre, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.
Saint Petersburg is often described as the most Western city of Russia. Among cities of the world with over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is also home to The Hermitage, the largest art museum in the entire world. A large number of foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and other businesses are located in Saint Petersburg.
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Moscow, Russia This album contains 38 pictures Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. In the course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, an ancient fortress that is today the residence of the Russian President and of the executive branch of the Government of Russia. The Kremlin is also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.
The city is served by an extensive transit network, which includes four international airports, nine railroad terminals, and the Moscow Metro, second only to Tokyo in terms of ridership and recognized as one of the city's landmarks due to the rich and varied architecture of its 182 stations.
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Denmark, the smallest of the Scandinavian countries This album contains 35 pictures The Danes are generally well educated, well informed, yet at the same time enjoy a distinctly Danish lack of formality. This gives the Danes a relaxed and often humorous attitude to authorities and life itself.
In Denmark you will find that the distances are short – and this makes it possible to combine all the atmosphere of buzzing city life with the relaxation of the beautiful Danish countryside.
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Finland, a relative latecomer to industrialization This album contains 53 pictures Finland was historically a part of Sweden and from 1809 on, an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire. Finnish Declaration of Independence from Russia in 1917 was followed by a civil war, wars against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and a period of official neutrality during the Cold War. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955, the OECD in 1969, the European Union in 1995, and the euro zone since its inception.
Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. Thereafter, economic development was rapid, Finland built an extensive welfare state and balanced between the East and the West in global economics and politics. The country tops continuously the international comparisons of national performance. Finland ranks the best country in the world in the 2010 Newsweek survey based on health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life.
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Sweden This album contains 47 pictures Sweden was even an Empire. By the treaties of Brömsebro, 1645, and Roskilde (1658), Sweden acquired important provinces of Denmark and Norway. Following the Peace of Westphalia (1648), Sweden ruled Ingria, in which Saint Petersburg later would be founded, Estonia, Livonia, and areas of northern Germany (Duchy of Bremen, Principality of Verden, Wismar and Swedish Pomerania).
New Sweden was a small colony along the Delaware River in North America (near New Jersey) from 1638 to 1655. It had about 600 settlers and was absorbed by the Dutch colony of New Netherland.
Today Sweden is a beautiful country to visit.